The invention relates generally to histological specimen slide printers. In particular, the invention is a system and method for feeding histological specimen slides from a stack of such slides into a printer.
Printers for printing information on containers such as slides used to process histological specimens (e.g., tissue biopsies) are generally known and commercially available. Printers of these types are, for example, disclosed in PCT International Application Publication Nos. WO 2012/036865 having an international filing date of Aug. 25, 2011 and WO 2012/036874 having an international filing date of Aug. 26, 2011, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety and for all purposes. Stacks of the slides with their major surfaces in contact with the major surfaces of adjacent slides are loaded into the printers. A feeding mechanism removes individual slides from the stack and moves the slides toward the printhead during printing operations. Adjacent slides sometimes stick together and interfere with the proper operation of the feeding mechanism or other portions of the printer.
There remains a continuing need for improved histological slide feeders and methods. In particular, there is a need for feeders and methods that efficiently and effectively feed slides from a stack without complications associated with the slides sticking to one another.